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Wednesday morning

Well yesterday started of very early I am sure I slept particularly badly because I was worried about Tuc. At 8.30 I rang the vet and by 9.30 we were in and seen, yes he has a very bad back and although I was braced for a telling off having given him half an aspirin to help his pain I was actually congratulated on getting the dose almost spot on. He is now on doggy pain killers and cage rest for up to three weeks. This will not be a problem as he is not keen to move and needs to be put on a lead to get him out for necessary tank emptying. As luck would have it today is the terriers birthday and they are 10 years old which I believe equates to about 70 in our years so they are old men. I have provided the usual celebration meal for them a tin of Chappie the cheapest tinned dog food but their favourite.

Today I am to phone the vet with a progress report and Tuc will be seen again on Thursday, what service if only GP'S were as readily available. Yes I know I pay for the vet but I also pay the GP indirectly.

With our very early start we ended up having a 12 mid day lunch of roast chicken but it was really delicious. It was an expensive proper "running around", chicken and what a difference that makes it actually tasted of chicken. I accompanied it with our first broad beans which I picked and James shucked and with them we had some bean tops which had come in my Riverford box. I have never thought to eat the pinched out tops of the broad beans and they are usually given to the chickens. We also had mashed potatoes which had been left over from the cottage pies and glazed carrots and button sprouts so it was quite a feast. The whole was covered in sage and onion gravy and to my surprise it was the vegetables that got eaten first!!! Consequently I have lots of cold chicken for today. For supper I made gnocchi di patate which I dressed with the remaining chicken gravy and plenty of parmesan. And that is now the end of the over abundance of mash!!!!

After the holidays James has a list of phone calls to make today and I am hoping to go shooting with Jeff weather permitting. I can also give him his new socks which are finished at last. Shiona has dipped out as the boiler men are coming to instal her new gas boiler today and we are going over to her house on Friday anyway. She is a member of the local amateur dramatic society and they are putting on a play in a garden so we are taking our chairs and going along. We will stay the night so Mike can drink and I wont have to drive back in the dark dead tired. Basso and Nip will come with us but Tuc will stay at home with James so they will be company for each other.

Lets hope the weather is kind and we get a shoot in before everyone goes on holiday.........

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